CPC G06F 30/398 (2020.01) [G03F 1/36 (2013.01); G06F 2119/18 (2020.01); Y02P 90/02 (2015.11)] | 20 Claims |
1. A method of generating a plurality of photomasks for a photolithographic process, comprising:
generating a circuit graph representative of a circuit layout having a plurality of conductive lines, wherein the circuit graph comprises a plurality of vertices including a first vertex and a second vertex not directly connected to the first vertex, and a plurality of edges, wherein each of the plurality of vertices is representative of a corresponding one of the plurality of conductive lines, and wherein each of the plurality of edges is representative of a spacing between the conductive lines less than an acceptable minimum distance;
reducing the circuit graph by combining the first vertex of the circuit graph with the second vertex of the circuit graph, wherein the first vertex represents a first conductive line of the circuit layout and the second vertex represents a second conductive line of the circuit layout, wherein the first vertex and the second vertex have a largest separation, wherein the separation is defined as a sum of edges separating two vertices;
performing an n-pattern conflict check on the reduced circuit graph; and
generating a plurality of photomasks based on a result of the n-pattern conflict check.
|